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U.S. Department of State

Moldova Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1996

Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor,
January 30, 1997.

MOLDOVA

Moldova gained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
In 1994 it adopted a Constitution that provides for a multiparty
representative government with power divided among a president,
cabinet, parliament, and judiciary. Parliamentary Speaker Petru
Lucinschi, running as an independent, was elected President in
a second-round runoff election, replacing the incumbent Mircea
Snegur. International observers considered the elections to be
free and fair. Prime Minister Andre Sangheli and the cabinet
resigned immediately after the election, but agreed to remain
as caretakers until President Lucinschi could appoint a new government
after his January 15 inauguration.

Moldova remains divided, with mostly Slavic separatists controlling
the Transnistrian region along the Ukrainian border. This separatist
regime has entered negotiations with the national Government on
the possibility of a special status for the region. Progress
has been blocked, however, by the separatists' continuing demands
for "statehood" and recognition of Moldova as a confederation
of two equal states. The Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe (OSCE), the Russian Federation, and Ukraine act as mediators.
The two sides have generally observed the cease-fire of July
1992, which ended armed conflict between them, but other agreements
to normalize relations have often not been honored. A Christian
Turkic minority, the Gagauz, enjoys local autonomy in the southern
part of the country.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs has responsibility for the police.
The Ministry of National Security controls other security organs.
The Constitution assigns to Parliament the authority to investigate
the activities of these ministries to ensure that they comply
with legislation in effect. There is also a protective service,
which guards the President, the Prime Minister, and the Speaker
of Parliament. Some members of the security forces committed
human rights abuses.

Moldova continued to make progress in economic reform. A privatization
program based on vouchers issued to all citizens is virtually
complete. However, the economy is largely based on agriculture,
and agricultural privatization continued to lag behind. In April
the Constitutional Court declared unconstitutional a law slowing
the conversion of land belonging to agricultural collectives into
private property. In October the Constitutional Court declared
unconstitutional a law forbidding private agricultural land sales
until 2001 and limiting the period when farmers could withdraw
from collectives to a few months a year. Some 50,000 private
farmers are officially registered. Estimates of those persons
seeking to register range from 100,000 to 150,000. Private land
holdings represent only 4 percent of the total land available
for agriculture. Per capita gross domestic product is about $430.

The Government generally respects the human rights of its citizens,
however, there are problems in some areas. The police occasionally
beat detainees and prisoners. Security forces monitor political
figures, use unauthorized wiretaps, and at times conduct illegal
searches. Prison conditions remain harsh. The judiciary is subject
to the influence of the prosecutor's office. The Constitution
potentially limits the activities of political parties and the
press. Societal discrimination against women persists. Addressing
a minority concern, the Constitution allows parents the right
to choose the language of education for their children.

The Transnistrian authorities continue to be responsible for human
rights abuses, including pressure on the media, questionable detentions,
and discrimination against Romanian/Moldovan speakers. Detailed
information about the human rights situation in the region is
difficult to obtain.

RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including
Freedom from:

a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing

There were no verified reports of politically motivated killings
either in Moldova or its separatist region. Information from
Transnistria is, however, limited. In June the wife of a former
Russian army special investigator being held without charge in
Transnistria died under mysterious circumstances. The investigator
was released in October, but continues to suffer from a medical
condition that considerably worsened while he was being detained
because of a lack of adequate treatment.

b. Disappearance

A vice president of the independent television station, which
at times has been pressured by the Government, was abducted by
men wearing police uniforms in January and has not been seen since.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs claims that its personnel were
not involved and attributes the abduction to a private settling
of criminal accounts.

c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment

There were no allegations of torture by the authorities, but there
were credible reports that police sometimes beat prisoners and
suspects.

In late December 1995, the home of journalists Tamara Gorinci
and her husband of the weekly Mesagerul was invaded by persons
in police uniforms and the journalists were beaten. The weekly
was running a series on corruption in the carabineri, a small,
specialized police unit. There were other attacks on journalists
from this publication, as well as others, in late 1995 and early
1996. Circumstances and identities of perpetrators are difficult
to establish. The perpetrators in one case were arrested, reportedly
nonpolicemen who were engaged in a robbery attempt, but no arrests
were made in the other cases.

Conditions in most prisons remain harsh, with serious overcrowding.
Spatial norms do not meet local legal requirements. Conditions
are especially harsh in prisons used to hold people awaiting trial
or sentencing; in September Council of Europe experts criticized
the harsh conditions of the facilities for those in detention.
These prisons especially suffer from overcrowding, bad ventilation,
and a lack of recreational and rehabilitation facilities. Conditions
for those serving sentences are only marginally better. The incidence
of disease, especially tuberculosis, and malnutrition is high
in all facilities. Abuse of prisoners by other prisoners or jailers
themselves, ostensibly for disciplinary reasons, has been reduced
by the dismissal or retirement of some of the worst offending
guards. The Ministry of Justice took over authority for the prisons,
replacing the Ministry of Interior.

Human rights monitors are permitted to visit prisons.

After questionable trials, four Moldovans are serving sentences
in Transnistria for terrorism-related crimes (see Section 1.e.).
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was denied
the possibility of visiting them despite numerous representations
to the Tiraspol authorities.

d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile

The former Soviet Code on Penal Procedure remains in force with
some amendments. Prosecutors issue arrest warrants. Under the
Constitution, a suspect may be detained without charge for 24
hours. The suspect is normally allowed family visits during this
period. The 24-hour time limit was generally respected. If charged,
a suspect may be released pending trial. There is no system of
bail, but in some cases a friend or relative, in order to arrange
release, may give a written undertaking that the accused will
appear for trial.

Suspects accused of violent or serious crimes are generally not
released before trial. The Constitution permits pretrial arrest
for an initial period of 30 days, which may be extended to 6 months.
In exceptional cases, Parliament may approve extension of pretrial
detention on an individual basis of up to 12 months. The accused
has the right under the Constitution to a hearing before a court
regarding the legality of his arrest. According to figures provided
by the Ministry of Justice in October, 1,746 persons were held
in confinement awaiting trial.

According to the Constitution, a detained person must be informed
immediately of the reason for his arrest, and must be made aware
of the charges against him "as quickly as possible."
The accused is provided with the right to a defense attorney
throughout the entire process, and the attorney must be present
when the charges are brought. Many lawyers point out that in
practice, access to a lawyer is generally granted only after a
person has been detained 24 hours. If the defendant cannot afford
an attorney, the State requires the local bar association to provide
one. Because the State is unable to pay standard legal fees,
a lawyer who is less than competent or energetic is often chosen.

The Government does not use forced exile.

e. Denial of Fair Public Trial

The Constitution provides for an independent judiciary. Although
the prosecutor's office still has undue influence, the independence
of the judiciary has increased since the dissolution of the Soviet
Union. The Constitutional Court made several rulings that demonstrated
its independence. In April the court overturned the Parliament's
amendments to the land code that had in effect halted land reform
by preventing peasants from individually withdrawing their land
from collective farms. Also in April, the court ruled that President
Snegur's attempted dismissal of Defense Minister Creanga was unconstitutional.
In October the Court overturned a Central Electoral Commission
decision to exclude a presidential candidate from competing in
the November 17 election by questioning large numbers of the signatures
on her electoral petitions. The respective parties complied with
these decisions.

The Constitution provides that the President, on the nomination
of an expert judicial body, the Superior Court of Magistrates,
appoints judges for an initial period of 5 years. They may be
reappointed for a subsequent 10 years, after which they serve
until retirement age. This provision for judicial tenure is designed
to increase judicial independence.

The judiciary consists of lower courts, an appellate court, a
Supreme Court, and a Constitutional Court. The Constitutional
Court provided for in the 1994 Constitution came into existence
in February 1995. A July 1995 law on judicial reforms specified
a system of appeals courts. There are district courts of the
first instance and five regional tribunals. The Higher Appeals
Court and the Supreme Court, which serves as a final court of
appeal, are both in Chisinau. The Supreme Court supervises and
reviews the activities of the lower courts.

By law defendants in criminal cases are presumed innocent. In
practice prosecutors' recommendations still carry considerable
weight and limit the defendant's actual presumption of innocence.
Trials are generally open to the public. Defendants have the
right to attend proceedings, confront witnesses, and present evidence.
Defense attorneys are able to review the evidence against their
clients when preparing their cases. The accused enjoys a right
to appeal to a higher court. Because the Government has been
unable to fund fully the new appeals courts mandated in 1995,
most of the tribunals and the Higher Appeals Court are not functioning.
Cases cannot be appealed directly to the Supreme Court, thereby
creating a backlog of cases on appeal. Court decisions involving
the restitution of salary or a position are not always implemented.

To date no pattern of discrimination has emerged in the judicial
system. The new Constitution provides for the right of the accused
to have an interpreter both at the trial and in reviewing the
documents of the case. If the majority of participants agree,
trials may take place in Russian or another acceptable language
instead of Romanian/Moldovan.

There continue to be credible reports that local prosecutors occasionally
bring unjustified charges against individuals in retribution for
accusations of official corruption or for political reasons.
Prosecutors occasionally use bureaucratic maneuvers to restrict
lawyers' access to clients.

There were no reports of political prisoners.

In Transnistria four Moldovans, members of the "Ilascu Six,"
remain in prison following their conviction in 1993 for allegedly
killing two separatist officials. International human rights
groups raised serious questions about the fairness of the trial,
and local organizations alleged that the Moldovans were prosecuted
for political reasons, solely because of their membership in the
Christian Democratic Popular Front, a Moldovan party that favors
reunification with Romania. Family members have been allowed
access. However, the Transnistrian "authorities" have
refused to allow the ICRC access under standard ICRC terms and
conditions, such as access to an entire detention facility and
a private meeting. The most recent such attempt was in April.

Both prosecutors and judges may issue search warrants. In some
instances searches are conducted without warrants. Courts do
not exclude evidence that was illegally obtained. There is no
judicial review of search warrants.

The Constitution specifies that searches must be carried out "in
accordance with the law," but does not specify the consequences
if the law is not respected. It also forbids searches at night,
except in the case of flagrant crime.

It is widely believed that security agencies continue to use electronic
monitoring of residences and telephones without proper authorization.
By law the prosecutor's office must authorize wiretaps and may
do so only if a criminal investigation is under way. In practice
the prosecutor's office lacks the ability to control the security
organizations and police and to prevent them from using wiretaps
illegally.

Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

a. Freedom of Speech and Press

The Constitution and the law provide for freedom of speech and
the press, although with some restrictions. The Government does
not abridge freedom of speech and the print media express a wide
variety of political views and commentary. National and city
governments own a number of newspapers, but political parties
and professional organizations, including trade unions, also publish
newspapers.

There were several assaults on journalists engaged in investigations
of alleged official corruption (see Section 1.c.). Circumstances
and identities of perpetrators are difficult to establish. The
perpetrators in one case were arrested; they were reportedly nonpolicemen
engaged in a robbery attempt. However, no arrests have been made
in the other cases. It is too early to tell if these attacks
have had an inhibiting effect on the willingness of the press
to investigate corruption.

Several independent radio stations broadcast in Moldova, including
a religious one. An independent television station broadcasts
in the Chisinau area. The independent media outlets maintain
news staffs and conduct a number of public interest programs.
The Government owns and operates a television channel that covers
the whole country as well as several of the major radio stations.
The city government of Balti operates its own television and
radio stations.

Parliament removed language in the press law enforcing the prohibitions
contained in the Constitution, which forbid "contesting or
defaming the State and the people," and political parties
that "militate" against the country's sovereignty, independence,
and territorial integrity. However, these restrictions remain
in the Constitution. They appear to be aimed at journalists publishing
material in favor of reunification with Romania or questioning
the legal right of the Republic of Moldova to exist.

The Government does not restrict foreign publications. However,
Western European and American publications do not circulate widely
since they are very expensive by local standards. Some Russian
newspapers are available, but do not circulate widely due to their
expense. Moldova receives television and radio broadcasts from
Romania and Russia. Cable subscribers receive Cable News Network,
the U.S. National Broadcasting Corporation, Super Channel, Euro-News,
and a number of other news and entertainment networks.

Of the two major newspapers in Transnistria, one is controlled
by the regional authorities and the other by the Tiraspol city
government. The latter criticizes the regime from time to time.
Other print media in Transnistria do not have large circulations
and appear only on a weekly or monthly basis. Nonetheless, some
of them also criticize local authorities. The one independent
cable television station is under constant pressure from the authorities.
It had to restrict its activity when it lost a libel suit brought
by the local authorities this spring. Most Moldovan newspapers
do not circulate in Transnistria. Circulation of all print media
in Transnistria is greatly hampered by the local economic crisis,
which is more severe than in the rest of Moldova.

The Government respects academic freedom.

b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association

The law provides for the right to peaceful assembly. The local
mayor's office generally issues permits for demonstrations; it
may consult the national Government if the demonstration is likely
to be extremely large.

The Constitution states that citizens are free to form parties
and other social and political organizations. Private organizations,
including political parties, are required to register, but applications
are approved routinely. The Constitution declares unconstitutional
parties that "militate against the sovereignty, independence,
and territorial integrity of Moldova."

c. Freedom of Religion

The Government generally permits free practice of religion. A
1992 law on religion codifies religious freedoms, although it
contained restrictions that could inhibit the activities of some
religious groups. The law provides for freedom of religious practice,
including each person's right to profess his religion in any form.
It also provides for alternative military service for conscientious
objectors, protects the confidentiality of the confessional, allows
denominations to establish associations and foundations, and states
that the Government may not interfere in the religious activities
of denominations. The law, however, requires that religious groups
register with the Government in order to hire noncitizens. The
law also prohibits proselytizing.

Some Protestant denominations are concerned that the prohibition
on proselytizing could inhibit their activities, although many
denominations hold revival meetings apparently without official
interference. To date the authorities have taken no legal action
against individuals for proselytizing. The Salvation Army, however,
was unable to register as a religious denomination because it
did not meet the requirement of having a Moldovan citizen as the
organization's legal head.

Although Eastern Orthodoxy is not designated the official religion,
it continues to be a strong religious force and exert significant
influence. In 1992 a number of priests broke away from the Moldovan
Orthodox Church, which is subordinate to the Moscow Patriarchate,
in order to form the Bessarabian Orthodox Church. The Bessarabian
Orthodox Church, which sees itself as the legal and canonical
successor to the pre-World War II Romanian Orthodox Church in
Bessarabia (the part of Moldova between the Dniester and Prut
rivers), subordinated itself to the Bucharest patriarchate of
the Romanian Orthodox Church. The Government has consistently
refused to register the Bessarabian Church, citing unresolved
property claims as the principal reason.

The Jewish community, although small, is very active. Jewish
leaders reported that their relations with the Government and
local authorities were good.

d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel,
Emigration, and Repatriation

The Government does not restrict travel within the country. Citizens
generally are able to travel freely; however, there are some restrictions
on emigration. Close relatives with a claim to support from the
applicant must give their concurrence. The Government may also
deny permission to emigrate if the applicant had access to state
secrets. Such cases, however, are very rare, and none were reported
in 1996.

Travel between Transnistria and the balance of the country is
not prevented. There are regularly scheduled buses. However,
the separatist "authorities" do stop and search both
incoming and outgoing vehicles. They restrict the flow of information
materials, preventing persons from bringing either Moldovan or
Western publications into the separatist region.

Moldova is not a party to the 1951 United Nations Convention on
the Status of Refugees or its 1967 Protocol. The issue of providing
first asylum has never arisen. There were no reports of the forced
return of persons to a country where they feared persecution.

Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens
to Change Their Government

Citizens voted in the first multiparty parliamentary elections
in 1994, and in the country's second presidential election in
November. Parliamentary Speaker Lucinschi, running as an independent,
won a second-round runoff election on December 1. International
observers considered the elections to be free and fair. The peaceful
transition of presidential power represents further progress in
the transition to democracy.

The Transnistrian "authorities," however, refused to
allow polling stations to be set up in the separatist region and
restricted access of Transnistrian voters to stations in the rest
of the country. Turnout from Transnistria in the election was
less than 2 percent of those eligible to vote.

Preelection maneuvering caused a realignment of the various registered
political parties in the country, plus a fragmentation of the
leftist parties represented in Parliament, including both the
former ruling party, the Democratic Agrarian Party, and its close
ally, the Socialist/Unity Bloc. Incumbent President Snegur is
moving to become leader of the rightist opposition, in preparation
for parliamentary elections to be held by February 1998. Supporters
of President-elect Lucinschi have also moved to establish their
own party to compete in these elections. Leftist and agrarian
groups are seeking to form coalitions.

The Constitution adopted in 1994 provides for the division of
power between the popularly elected President, the Cabinet, the
Parliament, and the judiciary. The President, as Head of State,
in consultation with the Parliament, appoints the Cabinet and
Prime Minister, who functions as the Head of Government. However,
a minster can only be dismissed with the assent of the Prime Minister.

In March the President tried to dismiss the Defense Minister,
an army general, by using his powers as Supreme Commander of the
armed forces. In April the Constitutional Court ruled that the
general's position as a government minister meant that he could
not be fired without the assent of the Prime Minister. The President
immediately accepted the Court's decision, thereby averting a
constitutional crisis. Many observers thought that the incident
showed a possible deficiency in the Constitution regarding the
sharing of executive powers between the offices of the President
and the Prime Minister.

Parliamentary elections must take place no later than every 4
years. Given the fragmentation of some of the parliamentary parties
as well as the possible need to revise the Constitution, a number
of parliamentarians called for parliamentary elections following
the presidential elections. Early elections may be necessary
if President-elect Lucinschi has difficulty forming a government.

The Constitution states that citizens are free to form parties
and other social and political organizations. A controversial
article states, however, that those organizations that "are
engaged in fighting against political pluralism, the principles
of the rule of law, the sovereignty and independence or territorial
integrity of the republic of Moldova" are "unconstitutional."
Opposition parties, some of which favor rapid or eventual reunification
with neighboring Romania, have charged that this provision is
intended to impede their political activities.

There are no restrictions in law or practice barring the participation
of women or minorities in political life. However, women are
generally underrepresented in leading positions of political parties.
Women hold only 5 of 104 parliamentary seats. The Association
of Moldovan Women, a social and political organization, competed
in the 1994 elections, but was unable to gain parliamentary representation.
Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, and Gagauz minorities are represented
in Parliament. Debate takes place in either the Romanian/Moldovan
or Russian language, with translation provided.

Several local human rights groups exist. The local Helsinki Watch
organization maintains contacts with international human rights
organizations, as does the Helsinki Citizens Assembly, whose president
is the chairman of the Parliament's Human Rights Commission.
Human rights groups operate without government interference.

The Government has welcomed and supported the work of the OSCE,
which has had a mission in the country since 1993 to assist with
finding a resolution for the separatist conflict. The OSCE participates
in the Joint Control Commission--composed of Russian, Moldovan,
Ukrainian, and Transnistrian members--which reviews violations
of the cease-fire agreement. The mission now generally enjoys
access to the "security zone" along the river dividing
the separatist-controlled territory from the rest of Moldova.

Moldova has cooperated with the International Committee of the
Red Cross (ICRC) in the past, permitting visits to prisoners from
the 1992 conflict (since released).

Since 1993 Transnistrian separatist authorities have not allowed
the ICRC access to the four members of the "Ilascu Six"
still in prison (see Section 1.e.).

Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion,
Disability, Language, or Social Status

The Constitution states that persons are equal before the law
regardless of race, sex, disability, religion, or social origin.
There are remedies for violations, such as orders for redress
of grievances, but these are not always enforced.

Women

Women abused by their husbands have the right to press charges;
husbands convicted of such abuse may receive prison sentences
(typically up to 6 months). Public awareness of the problem of
violence in families is not very high and no special government
programs exist to combat spousal abuse. According to knowledgeable
sources, women do not generally appeal to police or the courts
for protection against abusive spouses because they are embarrassed
to do so. Police generally do not consider spousal abuse a serious
crime. However, when cases do reach a court, they appear to be
treated seriously. Women and legal authorities report that spousal
abuse is not widespread. Through November the Ministry of Internal
Affairs recorded 276 cases of rape or attempted rape. A newly
formed women's crisis group believes that the number of rapes
is greatly underreported.

The law provides that women shall be equal to men. However, according
to statistics, women have been disproportionately affected by
growing unemployment. By law women are paid the same as men for
the same work. Although still victimized by societal discrimination,
anecdotal evidence suggests that women are more employable than
men (being seen as more flexible, better workers), and are working
because of economic necessity. There are a significant number
of female managers in the public sector; the president of Moldova's
leading private sector bank is a woman.

Children

There is extensive legislation designed to protect children, including
extended paid maternity leave and government supplementary payments
for families with many children. Ten years of basic education
are compulsory, followed by either technical school or further
study leading to higher education. The health system devotes
extensive resources to child care. No special problems concerning
child abuse came to light in 1996 nor is there a societal pattern
of abuse of children, but child support programs suffered from
inadequate funding along with other government programs.

People with Disabilities

There is no legal discrimination against people with disabilities.
However, there are no laws providing for accessibility of buildings,
and there are few government resources devoted to training people
with disabilities. The Government does provide tax advantages
to charitable groups that assist the disabled.

Religious Minorities

The Bessarabian Church has been harassed by unknown persons, including
a grenade attack in September on the Metropolitan's (the presiding
Bishop's) house, which caused no deaths or injuries and only small
material damage.

National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities

The population is about 4.3 million, of which 65 percent are ethnic
Moldovans. Ukrainians (14 percent) and Russians (13 percent)
are the two largest minorities. A Christian Turkic minority,
the Gagauz, lives primarily in the southern regions of the country.
They are largely Russian speaking and represent about 3.5 percent
of the population.

The 1990 Citizenship Law offered an equal opportunity to all persons
resident at the time of independence to adopt Moldovan citizenship.
The OSCE's Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
described the law as being very liberal. The law permits dual
citizenship on the basis of a bilateral agreement, but no such
agreements are in effect. In 1994 the Parliament voted to delay
until 1997 implementation of the language testing called for in
the Language Law of 1989 which was due to begin in 1994. The
principle inherent in the Language Law is that, in dealing with
any official or commercial entity, the citizen should be able
to choose the language to use. Officials are therefore obligated
to know Russian and Romanian/Moldovan "to the degree necessary
to fulfill their professional obligations." Since many Russian
speakers do not speak Romanian/Moldovan (while educated Moldovans
speak both languages), they argued for a delay in the implementation
of the law in order to permit more time to learn the language.
Addressing a minority concern, the Constitution provides parents
with the right to choose the language of instruction for their
children.

In the separatist region, however, discrimination against Romanian/Moldovan
speakers continued. Schools in the area are required to use the
Cyrillic alphabet when teaching Romanian. Many teachers, parents,
and students objected to the use of the Cyrillic script to teach
Romanian. They believe that it disadvantages pupils in pursuing
higher education opportunities in the rest of the Moldova or Romania.
(Cyrillic script was used to write the Romanian language in Moldova
until 1989, since "Moldovan," as it was then called,
was officially decreed during the Soviet era to be a different
language than Romanian, which is written in the Latin alphabet.
The 1989 Language Law reinstituted the use of the Latin script.)

As a result of an agreement between the Government and the separatist
authorities, 19 schools in the separatist region obtained permission
in January 1995 to use the Latin alphabet, with salaries and textbooks
to be supplied by the Moldovan Ministry of Education. Implementation
was modest during the 1995-96 school year, largely due to bureaucratic
obstacles imposed by authorities in the separatist region. Separatist
authorities rescinded permission a few weeks after the 1996 school
year opened in September, with the schools closed by local police
and Cossacks. Teachers from these schools were taken from their
homes in the evening and held for questioning for a number of
hours before being released. Separatist authorities in early
October detained several teachers for 6 days before releasing
them. At least one teacher from such a school was fired. At
year's end, the schools were open but teaching Romanian in Cyrillic
script.

Section 6 Worker Rights

a. The Right of Association

The 1990 Soviet Law on Trade Unions, which was enacted by Moldova's
then-Supreme Soviet and is still in effect, provides for independent
trade unions. Laws passed in 1989 and 1991, which give citizens
the right to form all kinds of social organizations, also provide
a legal basis for the formation of independent unions. The 1994
Constitution further declares that any employee may found a union
or join a union that defends workers' interests. However, there
have been no known attempts to establish alternate trade union
structures independent of the successor to the previously existing
official organizations that were part of the Soviet trade union
system.

The successor organization is the General Federation of Trade
Unions (GFTU). GFTU's continuing role in managing the state insurance
system and its retention of previously existing official union
headquarters and vacation facilities provide an inherent advantage
over any potential organizers who might wish to form a union outside
its structure. However, its industrial or branch unions are becoming
more independent entities; they maintain that their membership
in GFTU is voluntary and that they can withdraw if they wish.
Virtually all employed adults are members of a union.

Government workers do not have the right to strike, nor do those
in essential services such as health care and energy. Other unions
may strike if two-thirds of the members vote for a strike in a
secret ballot. There were several labor actions seeking payment
of wage arrears, including a number of strikes by teachers in
various parts of the country. High unemployment, both hidden
and official, led to worker concern about job security.

Unions may affiliate and maintain contacts with international
organizations. GFTU is currently negotiating membership in the
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, and hopes to
accede in 1997.

b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

The law, which is still based on former Soviet legislation, provides
for collective bargaining rights. However, wages are set through
a tripartite negotiation process involving government, management,
and unions. On the national level, the three parties meet and
negotiate national minimum wages for all categories of workers.
Then, each branch union representing a particular industry negotiates
with management and the government ministries responsible for
that industry. They may set wages higher than the minimum set
on the national level and often do, especially if the industry
in question is more profitable than average. Finally, on the
enterprise level, union and management representatives negotiate
directly on wages. Again, they may set wages higher than had
negotiators on the industry level.

There were no reports of actions taken against union members for
union activities. The 1990 Soviet Law on Trade Unions provides
that union leaders may not be fired from their jobs while in leadership
positions or for a period after they leave those positions. This
law has not been tested in Moldova.

There are no export processing zones.

c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

The Constitution prohibits forced labor. No instances of it were
reported.

d. Minimum Age for Employment of Children

The minimum age for unrestricted employment is 18 years. Employment
of those ages 16 to 18 is permitted under special conditions,
including shorter workdays, no night shifts, and longer vacations.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection is primarily responsible
for enforcing these restrictions, and the Ministry of Health also
has a role. Child labor is not used in industry, although children
living on farms do sometimes assist in the agricultural sector.

e. Acceptable Conditions of Work

There is a legal minimum monthly wage of $4 (18 Moldovan lei),
but this is used primarily as a basis for calculating fines.
The average monthly wage of approximately $41 (184 Moldovan lei)
does not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and
family. Lowest wages are in the agricultural sector, where they
average approximately $23 (102 Moldovan lei a month). Due to
severe budgetary constraints, the Government and enterprises often
do not meet payrolls for employees. The Constitution sets the
maximum workweek at 40 hours, and the Labor Code provides for
at least 1 day off per week.

The State is required to set and check safety standards in the
workplace. The unions within GFTU also have inspection personnel
who have a right to stop work in the factory or fine the enterprise
if safety standards are not met. Further, workers have the right
to refuse to work but may continue to draw their salaries if working
conditions represent a serious threat to their health. In practice,
however, the depressed economic situation has led enterprises
to economize on safety equipment and generally to show less concern
for worker safety issues. Workers often do not know their rights
in this area.

[end of document]

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